I must have been reading a magazine when Mashable reported on new findings about the news from the Pew Research Center. A December 2010 survey confirmed that Americans are turning away from newspapers and logging onto the Web. Among young people, the Internet exceeds TV as a news source:

In 2010, for the first time, the internet has surpassed television as the main source of national and international news for people younger than 30. Since 2007, the number of 18 to 29 year olds citing the internet as their main source has nearly doubled, from 34% to 65%. Over this period, the number of young people citing television as their main news source has dropped from 68% to 52%.

The survey, which involved asking 1500 adults in the U.S. about their main source of national and international news, was conducted by phone with land-line and cell phone connections. It follows from other Pew studies, which together reveal some other, interesting trends.

Radio news consumption has been relatively flat over the past decade. The proportion citing TV as their main sources declined in all age groups. However, among people with limited education, TV dominates:

College graduates are about as likely to get most of their national and international news from the internet (51%) as television (54%). Those with some college are just as likely as college grads to cite the internet as their main source (51%), while 63% cite television. By contrast, just 29% of those with no more than a high school education cite the display internet while more than twice as many (75%) cite television.

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, findings on Americans' news sources, Jan 4, 2011

You can visit the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press analysis for more graphs and information.

As for health care implications – I can only speculate on these trends’ significance and how doctors’ input might shift these curves, or not.